For more than 20 years, Leadership Initiatives has partnered with outstanding high school students to gain real-world experience, explore future careers, and develop critical skills to create the next generation of leaders worldwide. As a nonprofit organization, we are proud to offer real internships that impact the lives of students and the individuals they are partnered with.  

Leadership Initiatives offers the leading experiential education programs for high school students with endorsements from the Microsoft Youthspark Program, the Starbucks Foundation, the International Youth Foundation, GlobalGiving, TestRocker, and the Future First Foundation.

Join us today and start an internship with a business in the developing world, work with an attorney on an impending court case of national importance, develop anti-terrorism security strategies or partner with a doctor to diagnose patients in sub-Saharan Africa.

Leadership Initiatives has created seven first-of-their-kind programs for high school students who want to develop their leadership skills, gain real-world job experience, and change lives around the world.

The Advanced Law & Trial Internship Tier I and Tier II partners students with a D.C. law firm for an accelerated law internship to work on real court cases of national importance.

The Advanced Medical & Public Health Internship and the Advanced Medical Neuroscience Internship allows students to work with real patients and receive medical training from medical experts and Howard University.

The International Leadership & Business Internship partners students with real businesses in the developing world to develop critical and targeted business skills and experience.

The National Security & Intelligence Internship partners students with a real security firm in West Africa to create security solutions with former FBI and Military leaders for Yobe State University which has been attacked by the Boka Haram, an international terrorist group, several times since 2015.

We care a great deal about our students and their success. In addition to encountering some of the most memorable and unprecedented experiences, we also prepare students for college and professional life like no other program out there through our exclusive benefits:

• • One-on-one mentor time from Leadership Initiatives mentorship pool

  • 5:1 student-staff ratio

  • Leading experts from top companies, law firms, hospitals, and universities

  • Free ACT/SAT training from TestRocker

  • Scholarship search assistance

  • Unlimited college application essays – reviewed and edited

  • 3 scholarship application essays – reviewed and edited

  • Choose your own adventure tours of embassies, businesses, medical institutes, and legal sites

  • Admissions counseling from Ivy League admissions experts

Nominations for each program can be submitted through our nomination page. We examine all nominations on a case by case basis. Students are allowed to self-nominate but we will need an official recommendation from a teacher, school official, or principal before you can be admitted to the program. If you are selected, you will be notified accordingly.

You can sign up for our summer Youth Development Programs on our Enrollment Page.

After you have completed the enrollment process and made the initial deposit for the program, you will receive an email containing a confirmation of your enrollment, materials needed to attend the program, and more information about the program you enrolled in. If you enrolled using a payment plan, more information about the payments will be included in the email. If you did not receive a confirmation email or received one in error, please contact registration@lichange.org and the issue will be promptly resolved.

If your first choice for a program date is full, please email registration@lichange.org and let them know that you would like to be placed on the waiting list. All students on the waiting list will be contacted on a first come first serve basis when and if space becomes available.

Leadership Initiatives operates on rolling admissions. We continue to evaluate applications as long as space is available. Because many of our sessions fill by the middle of February, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to ensure your first choice of program and session.

If you would like to attend but do not think you will be able to meet the deadline for registration, please contact us at registration@lichange.org and we can review additional programming options. 

The following cancellation fees apply once the student has enrolled in our summer programs.

Cancellation Period	Total Cancellation Fee
Enrolled For Less Than 72 Hours	Program Deposit
Enrolled for Less than 2 Weeks	$200
Enrolled For More Than Two Weeks	$500
Enrolled For More Than Four Weeks	Entire Tuition

* If any college application benefits are used (Testrocker ACT/SAT prep, college essay assistance, college admissions assistance, mentoring program) participants are subject to a $500 cancellation fee.

Leadership Initiatives strives to make our programs accessible for all students. Our flexible cancellation policy allows students to cancel program attendance for any reason with a notice of 20 days before their selected program begins. Students that need to cancel their attendance for a program will receive credit for the amount they paid which can be used to attend another program during the summer of 2024. Students can also choose to defer their attendance until the following year.

2024 In-Person Program	Dates	Price
The Advanced Law & Trial Internship	July 7th - July 13th, 2024 July 14th - July 20th, 2024	$3500
The Advanced Law & Trial Internship Tier II	July 21st - July 27th, 2024	$3800
The Advanced Medical & Public Health Internship	July 7th - July 13th, 2024 July 14th - July 20th, 2024 July 21st - July 27th, 2024 July 28th - Aug 3rd, 2024	$3500
The Advanced Medical Neuroscience Internship	July 14th - July 20th, 2024 July 21st - July 27th, 2024	$4000
The International Leadership & Business Internship	July 7th - July 13th, 2024 July 28th - Aug 3rd, 2024	$3500
National Security & Intelligence Internship	July 21st - July 27th, 2024	$3500
Cybersecurity & Intelligence Internship	July 28th - August 3rd, 2024	$3500
Science Technology and Global Bio Security Internship	July 7th - July 13th, 2024	$3500
Jumpstart Program	July 14th - July 20th, 2024	$3200

2024 Online Program	Dates	Price
The Advanced Medical & Public Health Internship	July 28th - August 10th, 2024	$2250

Tuition for our program is all-inclusive. 

During the program tuition includes:

Leadership Initiatives offers a variety of flexible options to pay for program tuition. These payment options range from paying in full at the time of enrollment to a twelve-month, zero-interest payment plan. Below are all payment options.

Pay in full: Program participants can opt to pay 100% of the tuition cost in one single payment at the time of enrolling. The tuition amount is typically charged within 72 hours of enrollment. A $100 tuition discount is applied for participants who opt to pay in full.

Payment Plans: Program participants can also pay for tuition in zero-interest monthly payments. These payment plans allow participants to pay in evenly-distributed payments over an agreed period of time. LI’s payment plans are not a loan from a financial institution or bank but do require the completion of a repayment agreement. Three, six, nine, and twelve-month payment plans are available. Participants can opt to pay the entirety of their remaining tuition balance off at any point during the payment period. Additional discounts are available for certain payment plans (see below).

Payment Discounts

Pay in full: Receive an additional $100 off the program tuition
3-Month Payment Plan: Receive an additional $50 off the program tuition
6-Month Payment Plan: Receive an additional $25 off the program tuition
9 or 12-Month Payment Plan: No additional discount

Once more than $500 towards tuition has been collected, the student will have access to one year of TestRocker SAT or ACT training, college application, essay editing and access to our mentorship program is made available within three business days.

As a 501(c)3 Non-profit all Leadership Initiatives programs are heavily subsidized by our sponsors allowing us to offer programs with academic benefits at a lower cost than for-profit institutions who do not offer them.

For our 2024 Youth Development Programs, we received additional funding opportunities from our sponsors, which include Microsoft’s Youthspark program, the Starbucks Foundation, GlobalGiving, the International Youth Foundation, TestRocker, and the Future First Foundation.

We have over $500,000 in grant money to put towards scholarship assistance for students across the nation.

This scholarship assistance will be given in the form of $500.00 Future Leaders Mentorship Scholarships. We currently have 300 Future Leader Mentorship Scholarships available on a first-come basis. These scholarships have been divided amongst our six development programs.

If you are interested in claiming one of these scholarships please register today so we can apply it towards your cost of tuition immediately.

Please Note Our Scholarships Do Not Stack. This means you cannot receive more than one scholarship to attend our summer programs.

Leadership Initiatives is dedicated to providing opportunities for everyone who shows drive, determination, and grit towards their future goals. This is why we work hard with our sponsor organizations to ensure that grant money is available for students to attend the programs we offer. We also understand that sometimes this grant money isn’t enough to allow all students who are focused on improving the world and reaching their full potential to attend without additional support.

For this reason, we have created a fundraising department dedicated to helping students obtain the means necessary to participate in one of our summer internships. If you choose the fundraising option, you will meet one-on-one with a fundraising coach who will assist you in creating a comprehensive fundraising campaign. This coach will continue to check in twice a month until you have reached your goal. You will also receive a graduated payment scale which allows you and your family time to fundraise for tuition.

In this graduated payment scale, students will only be asked to pay the deposit and set up a payment plan. The graduated fundraising payment program is designed to help students who have low incomes enroll with a deposit and sets up smaller monthly payments that rise over time to match their fundraising projections.

For those wishing to partake in a fundraising campaign with Leadership Initiatives, you must enroll by January 30th, 2024. Students who enroll sooner will have a more successful campaign due to the fact that they will have a larger amount of time to fundraise.

Leadership Initiatives is the first summer program to offer students the opportunity to work directly with a fundraising coach who will be with the student every step of the way, encouraging and guiding them to reach their fundraising goals.

We know fundraising can seem like a daunting task but don’t worry, it is a lot easier than many think. Fundraising will hone the student’s communication skills, teaching them how to express ideas, showcase their values, and motivate others towards a specific goal.

Our Leadership Initiatives Youth Development Program Campaign Manual has been specially designed for students participating in our 2024 Virtual Programs and will teach participants how to galvanize additional support from family, friends, neighbors, and the community where the student lives.

If you have any questions before about our fundraising program, fundraising coach or the process feel free to email Jessica Bailly, our Youth Development Programs Director at jbailly@lichange.org, or set up a question and answer session by going to www.LIYDPmeetings.org and select the fundraising coach question and answer session option. If you have immediate questions you can also call our Customer Support Team at 202-738-1115.

You can select to participate in our fundraising coach and campaign program by selecting the fundraising campaign option when enrolling here.

Once again for those wishing to partake in a fundraising campaign with Leadership Initiatives, you must enroll by March 3rd, 2024. Students who enroll sooner will have a more successful campaign due to the fact that they will have a larger amount of time to fundraise.

Click here to view our 2024 fundraising campaign manual.

Click here to view a sample fundraising campaign page.

Student safety and supervision is our number one priority at Leadership Initiatives, and we maintain a uniquely low student-to-staff ratio of five-to-one, which not only allows more individualized time but also a far more manageable cohort. Our trained staff ensure that students are accounted for at all times through multiple check-ins throughout the day. Students are required to attend all group activities and seminars.

Gaining independence, including experiencing new things on your own, is an essential part of your growth during the program. So, your parents or guardians are not allowed to accompany you. However, it is perfectly fine for your family to travel with you to the program location and stay in the area while you are attending the program.

It is the decided opinion of Leadership Initiatives that all current students behave in a manner befitting a mature and responsible citizen. These include traits such as honesty, fairness, integrity, personal responsibility, being trustworthy, and having respect for others. Members of the learning community will be expected to abide by this code of conduct as a commitment to serve as responsible stewards of not only Leadership Initiatives but their community and country respectively. Leadership Initiatives reserves the right to remove any student that does not demonstrate these qualities.

We believe our students should dress for their potential and in preparation for the types of activities they will be experiencing. Because the slate of LI YDP’s activities carries with it many unique opportunities to powerfully shape the future of our students, we want to make sure students dress the part.

Due to the nature of virtual programs, we ask that all students appear in professional attire anytime they are in front of the camera.

Professional attire means suits, sport coats/jackets, slacks/dress pants, skirts or dresses that are coordinated and at least fingertip length when arms are at sides, blouses, sweaters, ties, etc. Shoulders should be covered. If there is any doubt whether or not your outfit makes the cut, you should probably change your outfit.

Semi-professional attire includes much of the above-mentioned clothing with the addition of khaki pants, polo/golf shirts, button-down shirts, blouses, and sweaters. Shoulders should be covered at all times.

Casual dress includes khaki/golf shorts, jeans in good condition (no rips or tears), sweatshirts, t-shirts, sneakers, sandals, capri pants, and skirts. Shoulders should remain covered at all times.